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Wireless mice and cordless phones

Learned something new this week about (modern) cordless phones – they can interfere with wireless mice.

Customer had a problem with their wireless mouse (mouse + dongle, rather than Bluetooth). Whenever they were using it on their desk, it would act wonky, especially if a YouTube video was running, or the computer was under similar load.

Customer tried replacing both the mouse and the mousepad (in case something was screwing with the laser) with no luck, and the mouse worked fine on my workbench. So, I went over to take a look and check for sources of wireless interference. There was nothing obvious (no microwaves in the office, wireless router was on the other side of the room, etc.), but the customer had two cordless phone base stations on the desk. I couldn’t think of anything else, so I tried unplugging them, and all of a sudden the mouse started behaving properly.

Both phones were DECT 6.0, so *in theory* should not have affected the wireless mouse. That being said, most people only keep one on their desk, so perhaps something about the two being right next to each other was causing the interference? If anybody has any, I’d love to hear some theories on the phenomenon.